Pac-12 Tournament Teaser: Day 1

When I look at the first day of the tournament, I see a day of chalk.  I think the regular season proved that there was separation between the top-eight teams and the bottom-four, leaving a series of apparent miss-matches in the first round.  Yes, lines aren't necessarily a indicator of actual talent disparity, just an attempt to get equal action on both sides, but you have to sense a landslide of convention coming when every favorite is giving up at least five and a half points.

There's good news hiding in this.  Assuming the chalk holds, Thursday could see some fantastic action, including the final resolution of that five-way tie for third.  Sit tight, Pac-12 fans, if the action is a little staid today. This beast could get real interesting come day two.

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- #8 Utah vs #9 Washington - 1pm MT - Pac-12 Network -

The day starts with one of my favorite dark horse teams, the Utes, trying to survive to play in what could be a very interesting quarterfinal.  Should Utah survive on Wednesday, I'm going to be very interested to see how they play against the tournament favorite Arizona Wildcats.  First thing's first, however, taking care of the Washington Huskies.

These two played to a draw in the regular season, with each winning their home portion.  You have to like Utah, however, as they've been playing some great basketball over the last few weeks.  Since losing in overtime at CU, the Utes have gone 6-3, with those losses only coming at UCLA, home against Arizona in overtime, and at Stanford.  Those aren't cupcakes.  Conversely, the Huskies have been mostly beating up on the three teams lower than them in the standings, which is none too impressive.

Utah is favored by 5.5, which I think is fair.  I say Utah barely covers behind a all-encompasing performance from Delon Wright.  Utah 65 - UW 59.


- #5 Colorado vs #12 USC - 3:30pm MT - Pac-12 Network -

Obviously, the meat of the day for yours truly is CU's opening round matchup with the Trojans.  Since the Buffs couldn't take care of business against Cal on Saturday, they have to go through the motions of this first round affair.  Unlike the last two seasons, however, the 'easy' tournament opener won't be against a team destined to make them sweat.

Whereas Utah in '12 and OSU in '13 were fantastic at forcing uncomfortable performances from CU (read play slow, and drive the action into the mud), the Trojans are tailor-made to let the Buffs get into what they like to do best.  There will be transition, there will be a fast pace... I might even get to enjoy myself!  There's a reason, after all, that these two teams have played to 150 possessions in two games.  Both coaches like to run, and both squads have shooters who would love to oblige with missed jumpers and outlet opportunities.

I don't want to come off as too overconfident.  This is a tournament, after all, and anything can happen.  I'm just really excited that a first round game featuring CU might actually be watchable.  In the end, however, I find it hard to see anything but a victory for the Buffs.  For the record, CU has only lost three games this season played at 70 possessions or higher, and it would be a major upset for these two teams to miss that mark today. This is a good matchup, much better than playing Washington State would've been, and there's really no excuse for the team not to be playing on Thursday.

CU is favored by 8.5, which is a lot, but still an amount I'll give.  CU 79 - USC 70.


- #7 Oregon vs #10 Oregon St - 7pm MT - Pac-12 Network -

The Beaver State has the third game all to themselves, when the intra-state rivals square off for the right to play UCLA.  Oregon has been the hottest team in the league over the past month, winning seven-straight to salvage their season.  As a result, it's hard to envision a win from OSU, even though they managed the feat back in January.

When last they met, these two played to 176 combined points, which leaves the hope that the game should be highly entertaining.  Even if it isn't, I'll be enthralled by the antics of the Beaver Basketball Band, featuring former CU conductor Dana Biggs.  Since I'm picking OSU to lose, this may be Vegas' only look at what Biggsy is up to.  Catch him while you can.

The Ducks are giving 6.5, and I like them to crack that in a high scoring affair.  OU 85 - OSU 75


- #6 Stanford vs #11 Washington St - 9:30pm MT - Pac-12 Network -

The evening concludes with my least anticipated game of the day.  This one seems destined to be a slog, with the Cougars playing some of the slowest ball in the nation.  In a neutral site, against a more physically gifted opponent, I expect them to gum up the works even further, maybe even attempting to keep this thing under 60 possessions.  Ugh!

The Cardinal is favored by 10.5, which seems high for me.  WSU is nowhere near a good team, but they could stay within that margin just by slow-playing for the full 40 minutes. The Cougars still lose, but by single-digits.  Stanford 60 - WSU 53


HAPPY MARCH!  GO BUFFS!  PROVE ME RIGHT, AND BEAT THE TROJANS!

Quick Post: The Pac-12 Mascots Death Match

Friend of the blog Adam Butler (@pachoopsab) is at it again, hosting a 'Deathmatch' vote-off between the Pac-12's various mascots.  I was tabbed to defend Chip, which I flatly refused to do.  Instead, I wrote up why Ralphie is the best mascot in the West, which is easy since she's the best mascot in the whole world.

Here's my blurb:
"I guess, ostensibly, I’m supposed to be talking about Chip, our Mickey Mouse with horns made available for the kiddies.  However, if you’re going to talk University of Colorado athletics, there is only one mascot that matters – the ton of rampaging bison known as Ralphie.  Often a source of confusion, let me confirm that Ralphie is, in fact, a female.  It’s an important distinction, because, if we were to let a male bison loose, death would ensue; after all, a buffalo is an unstoppable goring machine when pissed off.  With the lady involved, we’re only talking serious bodily harm, if you’re lucky.  So, come at me with your anthropomorphic plush toys.  I got a frickin’ buffalo, and you don’t."

If you agree with me that Ralphie is awesome, or at least better than USC's sorry excuse for a mascot, you should head over to Pachoops.com and vote for our favorite rampaging bison. You can do so here.

Vote early, vote often, vote Buffalo!

Second Annual Rumblin' Awards

Yesterday, the Pac-12 released their seasonal awards (congrats to Josh Scott, by the way, for being deservedly named to the first team). Never satisfied with the musing of coaches and professional pundits, I'm going to delve into who I believe should have been honored by the conference this year.

After the jump, find my choices for the All-Pac-12 1st and 2nd teams, along with my Player, Coach, Newcomer, and Defender of the Year.

Please remember that the Rumblin' Awards are a strictly black tie affair.

Monday Grab Bag: Onto the Postseason

I will admit to being absolutely unable to focus on work today.  I imagine the story will be the same tomorrow.  We're 48 hours away from the start of the Pac-12 tournament, and I have crossed the threshold into 'can't sit still because I'm too excited' territory.  I apologize to my co-workers, but my mind has checked out, and might as well already be in the MGM Grand.  See you next Monday!

While work will suffer due to the basketball distraction, this blog will not.  Tomorrow I'll have up my conference awards, with a tournament teaser up Wednesday morning.  From there, I'll have daily reports from the action in Vegas, with a quick run-down of how I view the next day's slate of games  You would also do well to keep an eye on my twitter account, as I'll be updating on the sights and sounds.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking CU's late-game stumbles against Cal, the final standings in the Pac-12, and a few notes from around the world of college basketball.

Click below for the bag...

2013-14 Cal Basketball Preview

Well, this is it.  The season finale.  What a long strange trip it has been, but CU still controls their destiny in the pursuit of a bye in next week's Pac-12 tournament, and could finish as high as third with a win tomorrow evening.  If you would've told me that back on January 12, back in the depths of post-injury despair, I'd have taken it in a heart beat.  To be sure, the Buffs have grown up a lot in recent weeks, and should be commended for even being in such a position.

Now comes the point when the team needs to reach up and grab the brass ring they've climbed within reach of.  There's no longer any danger - they're nominally 'in' the Tournament now, barring a spectacular run of bubble-busting performances.  Just go out, play free-and-easy basketball, and rip that bye-seed down off the pole!

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Tip-off from Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA is set for 4:30pm on Saturday.  Coverage can be found on Pac-12 Network, with Mark Johnson and the radio call coming on 850 KOA.

Click below for the preview...

2013-14 Stanford Basketball Preview

For those wondering, Shldr2Shldr had a great post over on Allbuffs listing the numerous seeding breakdowns that could play out this week.  With ASU losing in Eugene last night, the dream scenario which sees CU vault into third place remains alive, but they'd have to sweep in the Bay Area and have the Sun Devils choke in Corvallis on Saturday.  Highly unlikely.  Even without that perfect set-up, however, the Buffs could still claim a bye, but have to win at least one in San Francisco.  My feeling is that the game against Cal is the likelier of the two, at least with how the teams have been playing lately, but I think CU 'matches up' better with the Cardinal.  Regardless, the Buffs are underdogs this week, and some chalk could complicate the Vegas trip.

I still have faith, however.  Two unsurprising losses have some reaching for the panic button, and others getting ludicrous and mumbling bullshit like 'Right now, the only teams CU may be better than are Washington State and USC.'  Overreact if it makes you feel better, but this is still a strong CU team, and no one will be taking the Buffs lightly over the next few weeks.  Count this bunch out at your peril - watch them surprise us all and make the 3rd-seed happen.

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Tip-off from Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA is set for 7pm this evening.  Coverage can be found on ESPN2, with the radio call on 850 KOA.

Click below for the preview...

Monday Grab Bag: The Final Week

Well, we've come to the final week of the Pac-12 season, and almost everything is still up for grabs.  While Arizona has locked in 1st place, and USC and WSU will be the cellar-dwellars, seeds 2-10 in Vegas are still to be decided.  Laughably, CU still sits in 4th, clinging to a bye, but a tough roadtrip to the Bay Area awaits. Even a win this week, however, doesn't assure them of anything higher than 7th.  Regardless of how the final week turns out, you won't be able to say it wasn't interesting.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the loss in Utah, the Utes sudden rise up the post-season charts, and the 'olds' that the C-Unit isn't going to Vegas.

Click below for the bag...